Democratic Ownership and the Pluralist Commonwealth: The Creation of an Idea Whose Time Has Come

Gar Alperovitz

Writing for Truthout co-founder of the Democracy Collaborative Gar Alperovitz highlights the connection between Youngtown, Ohio, and the Principals of the Pluralist Commonwealth.

On September 19, 1977 -- a day remembered locally as "Black Monday" -- the corporate owners of the Campbell Works in Youngstown, Ohio, abruptly shuttered the giant steel mill's doors. Instantly, 5,000 workers lost their jobs, their livelihoods, and their futures. The mill's closing was national news, one of the ﬁrst major blows in the era of deindustrialization, offshoring, and "free trade" that has since made mass layoffs commonplace.